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Yankees outbid Red Sox for two-year Tommy Kahnle reunion

By Adam Weinrib

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - OCTOBER 07: Tommy Kahnle #48 of the New York Yankees celebrates with teammates in the locker room after sweeping the Minnesota Twins 3-0 in the American League Division Series to advance to the American League Championship Series at Target Field on October 07, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - OCTOBER 07: Tommy Kahnle #48 of the New York Yankees celebrates with teammates in the locker room after sweeping the Minnesota Twins 3-0 in the American League Division Series to advance to the American League Championship Series at Target Field on October 07, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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While Tuesday, Dec. 6 might not be delicious all the way through for New York Yankees fans, considering Aaron Judge may or may not be flying to San Diego on a private plane unbeknownst to Brian Cashman, the Yanks restored the vibes in their clubhouse for a few hours early in the day.

After an overnight report emerged pegging the Boston Red Sox as favorites in the Tommy Kahnle chase (or, at least, as a team “making a strong push”), the Yankees snuck in and outbid Chaim Bloom for the right-hander’s services.

Ken Rosenthal was first to the news, which sent shockwaves of joy through Yankees Universe.

So much joy, in fact, that no one really cared about the resulting sticker shock or ramifications elsewhere.

Who cares? A team short on relievers brought Tommy Tightpants back, and they did so after he returned to health in Los Angeles, and they did so after he sat in the Red Sox laps! Win-win-win, what winning teams do.

Yankees bring back fan favorite Tommy Kahnle on two-year deal, $11.5 million

Can Kahnle stay healthy during his second go-round in pinstripes? No one’s a doctor, and he did experience forearm inflammation during the 2022 season when he tried to rush his way back from Tommy John.

Now an additional year removed from his 2020 surgery, though, things should be (relatively) business as usual moving forward. The Yankees didn’t offer him an $11.5 million pillow deal in hopes that they’d receive real contributions in 2024. This is for the here and now.

There’s a reason Boston was hot on his trail, after all. As Twitter user Red Sox Stats mentioned Tuesday morning when it seemed like the Sox would secure his services, batters went 3-for-32 with three singles against Kahnle’s trademark power change last season.

Kahnle is first-team All Vibes, and will bring joy (and an electric arm) to a bullpen that sorely needed a shot in the arm last season — and (like when Chad Green departed with TJ, too) proved to miss him while he was gone.

12.2 innings, 14 Ks, 3 walks, 2.84 ERA in 2022. Endless joy in 2023-24. Read ’em and weep, Sox Nation.

Read ’em and weep until Judge guts us like a fish in 3.5 hours.

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